


Citrus Blossoms

by Starr_Reborn



Category: Naruto
Genre: BAMF Haruno Sakura, Baby Badasses, Canon I don't even know n! Hahahaha no seriously what is this Canon of which you speak, Cinnamon Rolls Of Doom™, Danzō Has Entered The Chat, Drabble, F/F, F/M, First she must grow, Fix-It, Fix-It of Sorts, Fluff, Haruno Kizashi Does His Best™, Hugs for all the softies, I ain't even know Japanese, I almost titled this Sakura Kisses Girls, IT'S SO FLUFFY, Inner Sakura is a bad influence, Inner Sakura is a good influence, Into a TERROR, Kizashi is a house husband, No Uchiha Massacre, OC Uchiha, People notice, Please forgive my Filthy Casual mistakes, Sakura adopts cuties, Sakura thinks this is normal, Sakura will eventually kiss girls, Saving the world THROUGH CUTENESS, Saving the world THROUGH FRIENDSHIP, Slow Burn, The Haruno's feed everyone tea and sweets, The Uchiha Do Their Best™, This is from the POV of Kizashi, Uchiha Sasuke Is Precious, Uchiha Shisui Lives, a few - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:41:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 58
Words: 16,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26008180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starr_Reborn/pseuds/Starr_Reborn
Summary: Saku-chan has an imaginary friend. It's a recent thing, and very cute. He found out one day when he went to wake her up for breakfast and caught her staring at herself in her mirror, one hand pressed to the glass and talking to her reflection.Sakura calls her Yuzu.
Relationships: Haruno Kizashi/Haruno Mebuki, Haruno Sakura & Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura & Yamanaka Ino, Haruno Sakura/Yamanaka Ino
Comments: 113
Kudos: 585
Collections: Konoha Collection





	1. Chapter 1

It starts with Saku-chan deciding she no longer wants to wear, or even own, dresses. Oh, did he say Saku-chan? Whoops, he means _Yuzu_. Saku-chan is three and terrifically literate, speaking carefully so she can properly explain why dresses are no longer wearable.

"Yuzu says that, um, they're hard to run in. And if you wear them on a ummm, a bat-tall-field, you can get hurt! _Real_ bad!"

And her cheeks puff up as she plants her fists on her hips and how can he say no to that? But, well...

"Ok. And why are you trying to burn them?"

"Ninjas breathe fire but I dunno how to yet!" That's much more excited, accompanied by her brandishing the matches she'd fished out of the kitchen drawer that held the emergency candles with eyes just sparkling.

Which is great.

And, oh! He gets the pleasure of informing Mebuki that their little daughter, who wanted to be a princess last week, has now decided to become a shinobi.

It probably won't stick.


	2. Chapter 2

It's sticking.

And Saku-chan is sticking. On the ceiling.

Because three weeks ago when they went out shopping, his precious child slipped away from him and disappeared into thin air, apparently. Just by sheer will. She has pink hair! And she just _WHOOSH_ , vanishes. She decided to become a "super amazing ninja!" a month ago. How she's already slipped away, just...!

Two _Very_ patient Uchiha find him panicking in the market, hauling his green eyed monster with them. He thanks them profusely while Saku-chan giggles and calls them Brave Shinobi with stars in her eyes. 

One of them even smiles at her.

Not that he's surprised, his child is irresistibly adorable.

Apparently it's not the last time his daughter slipped away; she's just running around the light fixture in the kitchen, talking and waving her arms to explain how she snuck to the library the past few weeks and learned, ahem,

"Super awesome ninja stuff! And Yuzu says-" so yeah.

Mebuki takes this news remarkably well - bless that wonderful woman of his, she takes so much in stride - when she comes home to every pillow, cushion, and particularly thick blanket they own spread out on the floor.


	3. Chapter 3

He almost gets away with a nice, clean, not chaotic home. 

But there's water just EVERYWHERE in the upstairs bathroom. He only knows because he steps in a puddle of it... Leaking out from beneath the door... By the grace and courtesy of his precious Saku-chan.

And probably Yuzu.

...

No, actually, when he finds his soaked-from-the-waist-down child, dripping water from the ceiling in her own room for once, she tells him that,

"Yuzu told me to clean up but I forgot!"

So apparently he was too quick to blame the imaginary friend.

He cleans it up, obviously. Mebuki will be home soon and she's had a long day - trick question! Err, words! Every day is a long day, he used to feel like he got it easy watching Saku-chan and keeping the house presentable - and he doesn't want to hassle her.

So _she's_ the one who finds out how and why Saku-chan spilt so much water all over their nice hardwood floors.

Which is, of course,

"Yuzu says ninjas can walk on ANYTHING." 


	4. Chapter 4

It's always something isn't it? Always some new thing, and he's a good dad isn't he? He deserves to take a nap sometimes, especially at the same time his daughter is supposed to be napping! It's foolproof! 

It's!

It's!

Leaves, _everywhere_. All over the house and, when he finds her, all over his daughter. 

Just... _how?_

"I snuck out when you fell asleep-" WHY? "-so I could go to the ninja school! They were sticking ninja leaves to their ninja heads! Yuzu says-"

Yuzu says, Yuzu _always_ says, why can't Yuzu stop saying things to his precious, impressionable child!?

Oh, and he makes her clean this mess up. Which she does, err, interestingly. She rolls over the leaves to pick them up and become even more of a leafy green terror. 

When Mebuki walks in and Saku-chan zips by laughing wildly, only one leaf is left in her wake.

He manages to explain so far as,

"Uh-" and she cuts him off, shaking her head and moving towards the kitchen. She says,

"I need tea." Then stalls for just a second and turns to tell him, "Good work today." Which feels undeserved. She's a wonderful wife.


	5. Chapter 5

Today Saku-chan is being... Well, he doesn't want to say good. She's a lovely child, the trouble she finds trying to be a shinobi is mostly limited to their home. And apparently the library and also the academy.

BUT! Today Saku-chan comes to him, hands curling into the hem of her t-shirt, looks up at him through her lashes and asks him in the sweetest, most innocent voice she can muster,

"Tou-chan, can we go to the park?"

So sweet, look at his precious little-

It's suspicious though, right? He can't be in the wrong for thinking it's suspicious. 

"And you're not going to run off to the library?" She shakes her head no, already perking up, _sensing his weakness_. "OR the academy?" She looks confused and he starts to clarify but she beats him to it,

"The ninja school! No, Yuzu doesn't wanna go there." Because of course this is a Yuzu venture.

"Yuzu... Wants to go to the park?"

"Uh-huh."

"Just the park?"

"Mm-hm!"

" _Only_ the park?"

" _Tou-chan!_ " So he takes her to the park. A nice, normal, balmy-

Sakura is using the park to practice dangerous stunts.


	6. Chapter 6

Saku-chan will be turning four soon. Very exciting. She doesn't want a party but she does want friends over. She says as much. And then she immediately follows with,

"Oh wait I don't have those!" With a little bit of wonder and a laugh. She turns to him, pointing up at him (he raises a brow and points to himself as well) "I need friends! Besides Yuzu! Yuzu says that would be healthy."

...huh. How bout that?

"So what do I have to do with that?"

"I'm too small to go out by myself." This is true, but...

"That hasn't stopped you before."

"I'm almost four and I need to start growing up!"

...

He has. No words. She's been stunting off the playground for a FULL month. 

...he was politely asked not to come back after an older child broke his arm trying to flip off the top of a covered slide.

At least Saku-chan is nimble?

So, because she's trying to grow up, she takes him by the hand and tugs him out of the house in search of friends. And she's actually pulling him along, barely stumbling when he exerts force against her.

She's getting _stronger_.

He let this happen. Kami-sama forgive him.


	7. Chapter 7

It's a week before her birthday when she finds a friend, her first _real_ friend. 

It happens when he goes to the market with Saku-chan in tow and then she vanishes, naturally. He doesn't panic this time, just tries to finish his shopping and then find a bench for the Uchiha to find him. He meets another harried dad, first.

"I suppose you're Sakura-chan's father?" He looks up from the romance novel he'd stuffed in his back pocket, and the man in front of him does look so worn, he just assumes,

"I'm so sorry for whatever she's broken I'll pay for it-"

"It's not," and this blue eyed, silvery-blonde haired beauty of a tired man laughs and shakes his head - LOOK at that HAIR, oh wow - and asks, "So yours is a handful as well? I'm-"

Yamanaka Inoichi, single father, shinobi extraordinaire. Super relaxed and not intimidating, or not trying to be. And beautiful, just gorgeous. He would know, his wife is the most beautiful person in existence. Saku-chan is a close second.

Inoichi is now a solid third.

Inoichi-san leads him to a flower shop and he half expects to find his daughter covered in petals. Instead he finds his daughter fawning over a miniature Inoichi, and it's so cute he actually almost cries when the mini Inoichi tells his Saku-chan that _she's_ a beautiful flower.

He claps Inoichi on the shoulder, telling him,

"Welcome to the family. How about you and yours come over for dinner?"


	8. Chapter 8

Inoichi-san finds him one day after he drops Saku-chan off at the Yamanaka compound. An Aunt Yue takes her by the hand and bids him a good day. 

The house is going to be SO nice today. He might even surprise Mebuki with lunch...

And then Inoichi-san steps up beside him, startles him, steadies him and keeps pace with him all startlingly without saying a word. He's smiling but. His daughter is a "super sneaky ninja" so he knows when smiles are suspicious.

Eventually, Inoichi-san asks him,

"Do you or your wife have any shinobi training?" Uhh, no? "Sakura-chan seems... Very knowledgeable."

Is he. 

Is this.

He's in trouble. He's a bad dad oh no oh he thought she was just _smart_ , he didn't, he's not, oh Kami-sama he's fucking _goofed_ he's-

"Whoa! Kizashi, it's ok! This isn't an interrogation, I'm not accusing you of anything!" But it feels like an interrogation, and once Inoichi-san finds a bench to guide him to he does end up helplessly telling Inoichi-san all that Saku-chan had been getting up to in the past eight months.

And at the end of it, Inoichi-san just lets out a long sigh. 

"Am I. Am I doing a bad job? Should I _tell_ someone-"

" _No!_ No, don't- it's fine. Sakura-chan is just. _Very_ smart." It's an understatement. 


	9. Chapter 9

Ino-chan came over today and she and Saku-chan are playing in the garden. He's making lunch with the window open, the sounds of their laughter drifting in on the breeze and making his heart feel light. He's thinking about trying to convince Endou-san to let them come back to the park.

It's been a few months, Saku-chan doesn't sneak away, _as much_ , anymore and with Ino-chan there she might not flip and run and perch and in general terrorize the not-shinobi-hopeful children.

There's a cheer of joy from Ino-chan and he cranes his head up to see out the window and,

"I did it! Look Saku look!" The little blonde throws up a hand, a leaf sticking on each fingertip, with triumph. Saku-chan cheers as she drops from a tree, landing with cat-like grace and an arm covered in leaves.

"That's amazing Ino!" And they high-five and the leaves fall from them but Saku-chan planned for this, giving a shout and diving into the leaves to stick them everywhere, pop up, and chase Ino around.

His daughter _is_ the cutest thing in the world. And at least she's teaching Ino-chan safe things. 

Wait, should she be teaching Ino-chan _any_ things?

Oh, Inoichi-san could be so scary without meaning to and he _really_ didn't want to see what it looked like when Inoichi-san _meant_ to be scary...

No, no, Ino-chan came from a Clan of shinobi, it'd be fine she probably _knew_ all this stuff anyway.


	10. Chapter 10

Yue-san comes to his door breathless, looking for the children and terrified. He invites her inside and begins preparing tea. She's frantic and demanding he run around with her searching high and low for them.

He offers her cookies and decidedly does not do that. When she begins to grow upset he assures her the Uchiha will be by shortly with both of them. This isn't a comfort, apparently.

It takes twenty minutes. Yue becomes nearly deliriously frenzied, almost storming out at one point. Right at the twenty minute mark, she throws open the door and two very tired Uchiha - one Uchiha Ayane, and a new kid, looks like - present Saku-chan and Ino-chan. Ayane intones,

"Tadaima." And her recruit just gives a scandalized look.

They were at a training ground watching some chūnin train, trying to mimic katas and hand signs. He gives Ayane, and her new recruit, some cookies for their trouble. She musses Saku-chan's hair, pats Ino-chan's head, leaving with a wave.

Saku-chan waits until she's alone with him to show him the kunai she found.

He takes it and hides it away, making her swear to secrecy.

She demands cake.

Mebuki comes home to cake and kisses his cheek for remembering their anniversary.

He cuts Saku-chan an extra-large piece.


	11. Chapter 11

Saku-chan keeps finding her kunai.

It's always where he last hid it whenever he checks to see if it's there... But there are marks in the dirt at the base of the biggest tree in their garden and a few suspicious looking chips in the bark.

As the days pass those chips become obvious kunai marks and crawl up the tree. 

He keeps moving the blade too! 

But there's _always_ a new mark on the tree. 

He's not getting creative enough with his hiding spots, obviously. He should just get rid of it.

No wait, no, no he can't just throw it away! Would he get in trouble for that? Could it trace back to him, as a civilian is he even _allowed_ to have one of these?

Shit.

He's gotta do _something_.

...

FUCK IT'S GONE.

Mebuki found it, didn't she? Oh, he's dead, so dead, so extremely dead when she gets home! No, no it's fine he'll make a delicious dinner and, oh there was a new tea shop that opened up, he'd get a really nice oolong and maybe she wouldn't even be that mad!


	12. Chapter 12

He may have set a bad precedent.

Also Mebuki loved the tea. Plus side of his misunderstanding.

His precious child, his adorable Saku-chan, is playing a game with him. The game goes as follows:

Saku-chan calls for him from somewhere in the house. He looks for her. He never immediately finds her. What he does find is the kunai. And then laughter!

_From inside the walls._

This is his fault. 

He did this. 

He's proud of her in a weird way. In every way really. 

So! Ninja hide-and-seek. He has to find her before Mebuki gets home. It's great.

It's getting more difficult every day.

He found a gray hair the other day. Two actually.

He's been thinking of hiring a genin team. Just for a day. A spa day, for him _and_ Mebuki. Just a day away from home and work and his beautiful, brilliant, endearing little oni child.

It wouldn't cost much. Yue-san had been looking a little haggard lately, it would be a nice break for her too.

Yeah, yeah, then he wouldn't -

"A-HA!" he wrestles a squealing Saku-chan out from the air duct by an ankle. 

"You win Tou-chan!" And she laughs, and he tries to laugh.

Mebuki will be home in five minutes.


	13. Chapter 13

The spa day is a hit. He feels refreshed, like a brand new human! Younger, even. 

Just, relaxed and ready to take on the world.

It's a good thing.

He comes home to, err. 

"What is this?" One of the genin holds his daughter up by the back of her shirt and while she hangs there freely, she just laughs and pretends she's flying.

It's adorable, she's adorable.

"Hi Saku-chan!"

"Hi Tou-chan! These ninjas are super good at seeking!" Awww-

_Did she show them her kunai oh FUCK!_

" _How!_ " The genin sets her down (Saku-chan zips off with a giggle) and steps closer with a strangled sound. " _Why?_ Is she like that?"

Mebuki steps past him and trudges towards the kitchen, throwing over her shoulder,

"Tea?"


	14. Chapter 14

Umino-kun and his teammates become a semi-regular fixture in his life.

He recommended them to Yue-san.

She made him up a beautiful bouquet to give to Mebuki in thanks. And she gave him seeds for the garden! It's nice. Over dinner, Ino-chan and Saku-chan talk about things they begged Umino-kun to teach them.

Ino-chan even reveals,

"He's suss-suspectable-"

"Susceptible!"

"Thanks Saku- Suspectable to being called sensei!" Such adorable little manipulative precious gifts.

But he just smiles and tells them,

"Good job kids!" And offers extra helpings. Because, and he quotes _"Ninjas need to eat lots to do lots!"_

Which, naturally, means they also want extra dessert. He's hoping if he feeds them enough food they won't have room for extra dessert, and he could, rather sneakily, avoid dealing with two hyper baby shinobi.

It doesn't exactly go like that. 

Ino-chan taps out and doesn't even finish her first piece of cake. Saku-chan slides it over onto her own plate after methodically devouring her own slice. She even asks if she can have Ino-chan's extra slice. Explains it away as,

"Yuzu has a second stomach for sweets, Tou-chan, and yours are the best!" 


	15. Chapter 15

Saku-chan and Ino-chan give Umino-kun and his teammates the slip one day.

He'd spent the day gardening, enjoying the sunlight and the silence and the smell of the soil. Apologizing to Ganjō-kun, all the leaves and bark it had shed in the pursuit of Saku-chan's dream.

Umino-kun shows up, and he thinks fondly of the first time Yue-san showed up at his door.

Oh, he doesn't have any tea!

He stands with effort, wiping his hands off on the towel he'd slung around his neck and beckoning Umino-kun to follow him.

"With all due respect, we should be looking for Sakura and Ino, not, not _going shopping!_ " He hums and waves the comment off, saying that,

"It's a beautiful day, isn't it?" He meant to take his sun hat off before heading out but it _is_ a bright one. When Umino-kun makes to raise more complaints he tells him, "You might find something you like, come along stop dawdling."

Ayane-san finds them in the tea shop, childless. He teases,

"No recruits tagging along today?" 

"Like Sakura? " What is _that_ supposed to mean? "She wants to join the KKB."

She _WHAT_


	16. Chapter 16

It's the third time he's picking up Ino-chan and Saku-chan from the KKB headquarters.

The fifth time they're here together and the thirteenth time Saku-chan has been here at all.

He'd gotten a note from Inoichi-san earlier, a little smear of blood in the corner with the quickly scrawled message,

_'Working late. Sleepover please.'_

He's thinking about making curry.

Ayane is working tonight, must be covering a shift for, was it Rin? No! Gin. He must've finally worked up the courage to talk to that Deputy. And how sweet, he'll have to tell Mebuki, they can make chocolates!

Ayane draws his attention with an,

"Okaeri." He laughs and offers a hasty,

"Tadaima!" His Saku-chan also manages a hasty greeting, but she and Ino-chan - and another young blonde child, probably a Yamanaka cousin they drug into their antics - are concentrating on braiding Ayane's hair. The Uchiha is just a pillar of patience when Saku-chan commands,

"Aya-nee tilt your head forward!" _Aya-nee!_ Be still his heart! Oh he'd thought it was cute when she'd said she'd become an Uchiha if only Uchiha were allowed on the KKB, but the look on Ayane's face when Saku-chan calls her that?

His daughter may yet have a chance to join their ranks.


	17. Chapter 17

It wasn't a Yamanaka cousin. 

It was a new friend. 

One Uzumaki Naruto.

And he. Is just the sweetest little kid. It's like no-one has ever reached out a kind hand to him and it honestly makes his heart hurt.

Naruto-kun is _far too_ skinny.

Saku-chan is surprisingly mature about how much he dotes on Naruto-kun and he couldn't be more proud. Saku-chan starts teaching him things and he thinks nothing of it. Saku-chan is almost five, she'll start the academy in a year and half. If Naruto-kun is the same age that means he'll be joining with the girls and.

Well it should be fine.

And it is fine! Naruto-kun comes over twice a week to spend the night, Mebuki LOVES him and teaches him how to read. He actually cries a little, BUT only a _little!_

And then he meets Sarutobi Hiruzen.

He prepares tea and cookies. His hands only shake a little. Because this is it. Saku-chan has actually crossed a line and really pissed someone important off.

The _fucking_ Hokage!

But when the Hokage settles onto the couch, takes off his hat and sips his tea, he starts with,

"So I hear you've been hosting young Naruto at your home."


	18. Chapter 18

So he's beginning to get involved in politics.

Entirely against his will.

It's not his fault. Mebuki doesn't even blame him, insists that it isn't his fault. And it's NOT! 

But it _feels_ like it is?

Ayane had proposed a. Well. It's not an apprenticeship. Not quite. She doesn't word it that way, makes very certain to _not_ word it that way from the careful, halting way she makes her offer.

She wants to give Saku-chan training.

Unofficially.

"She's bright." Is what Ayane says and he corrects her, without meaning to,

"She's a _genius_." And he receives a,

"Hn." for the trouble.

It's a very good argument.

And he knows Ayane, knows what her coming forward with an offer like this means. Not just in terms of Saku-chan having a real teacher, but that teacher being an _Uchiha_. 

And he's a little scared. 

"But why?" And she doesn't say anything for a long time.

Five minutes. And as she goes to speak, the front door is thrown open and Saku-chan greets,

"Tadaima!" And the fucking _smile_. He says (and Ayane chimes in),

"Okaeri."

And he has this feeling like, no matter what he says, his Saku-chan _has_ just found a teacher.


	19. Chapter 19

His house has gotten quieter and he's not sure how to feel about it. 

Saku-chan only hides in the walls and air ducts on weekends. She has convinced Ino-chan and Naruto-kun to join in the endeavors on the nights they stay over.

Saku-chan has begun to wear darker clothing, usually with the Uchiha uchiwa stitched on a sleeve. She's also passing shirts off to Ino-chan and Naruto-kun. They look SO. ADORABLE.

 _Naruto-kun,_ that has decided he wants to one day become the Chief of the KKB! Saku-chan, naturally, tells him he'll have to beat her to it, so their friendship of four months has become a rivalry...-friendship. Friendshivalry.

Hm.

He'll think more on that.


	20. Chapter 20

Inoichi-san surprises him for lunch one day. It's nice. Inoichi-san suggests they eat at the park but, uhh, Saku-chan has been running around - not in, _around,_ little smart-ass... - the park and he's been banned just in general.

So they take their lunch in the garden. He put in a bench recently, did a little landscaping. He's had a lot of time on his hands with Saku-chan out training, learning how to beat up grown men.

_And worse._

He tries not to think of the, _And worse_ , too often. There are reasons he'd been begrudgingly supportive in the beginning. Sometimes he thinks it might not be too late to convince her to go for that princess route.

Inoichi-san takes a bite of rice and eventually says,

"So I understand Sakura-chan is training under a tokujō. An Uchiha." It's a statement. It almost sounds like a question, like a suggestion. And Inoichi-san isn't trying to be intimidating. He doesn't try to. He just _is_. 

But it's hard to quickly and adequately sum up that Ayane-san had been in Saku-chan's life for a year and a half, which is a significant portion of Saku-chan's life. How to explain that she's not quite family but she could be if she so chose to. That she is, even if simply by the fact that Saku-chan has chosen her as much as Ayane-san has chosen Saku-chan. 

How to say that he thought about it, he's still scared, but he's willing to try to trust someone trained to lie, cheat, murder, and steal for the greater good, for his sake and the sake of others like him.

 _Civies_.

He's knows what he is. Knows he's only so lucky to be entangled with the Higher Ups, even as it exposes him to danger. He's of interest, maybe even of use. 

What he says is,

"Have you ever seen an Uchiha blush?" Inoichi-san spares him a long, considering stare. "You should see Ayane-san when Saku-chan calls her _Aya-nee._ " And he knows his Saku-chan impression could use some work.

But Inoichi-san smiles and nods.

Before he leaves he says, 

"My friend Shikaku would love to meet you. I can bring him next time?"

"Ah, yeah, sure!" and something about his acceptance feels very... Final.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So i wrote up these twenty chapters over the course of two days. Probably shows.   
> Hi. Just me doing drabble things again. ;3


	21. Chapter 21

Ayane treats him to lunch. It's rare and wonderful and quiet.

_Very_ quiet.

He's already a loud eater, nevermind over ramen! Ayane only quietly slurps, like the gentlewoman she is. Damn Uchiha and their damn prefect manners...

No, no wait this could work out! Maybe Ayane invited him to lunch to tell him she's going to actually take Saku-chan as a proper apprentice and teach her - among the _And worse_ skills - manners! 

It'll never happen, but the dream is a nice one to entertain anyway. 

"Who is Yuzu?" Seriously, for how quickly she's devouring those noodles, it's _so_ noiseless. Not entirely, but damn close. "Kizashi-san."

"Hmm?" He jerks his head up and the motion causes his mouthful of noodles to slap the underside of his chin. A drop of broth slowly, slowly begins to travel down his throat.

He's been trying to bribe Teuchi for the secret to his broth for _years_. He's thinking about sicking Saku-chan on Teuchi's daughter now that she's beginning to help in the kitchen. Surely his beautiful, brilliant, only slightly manipulative child could wheedle it out of the other girl.

"Who is Yuzu?"

"Saku-chan's imaginary friend." Ayane looks at him very strangely and he amends, "Saku-chan's imaginary friend?"

She says,

"Hn." And it's only a little worrying. 


	22. Chapter 22

Inoichi-san is kind enough to give him a warning before he meets Shikaku.

The man doesn't like sweets.

Who... _How_...

The dishonor! It almost guts him, for a moment it sucks the energy right from his very soul - chakra? Is, is that, can he say that? - but, no, you know what, _no!_

He's smart, smart like Saku-chan (Well maybe not _exactly_ like Saku-chan) and he can overcome this challenge to his being!

He makes lemon cookies.

With basil sugar. BOOM! 

Say no to that, Shikaku-san!

"No thanks I don't like sweets. What's the green shit on it?" And yawns, _in his face_. 

"But. But they're lemon!" Weak, wounded cries from his ever wilting soul. "And it's... Basil sugar...!" 

He is a husk of a man.

Between the ethereal, radiant beauty of Inoichi-san and the rugged handsomeness of Shikaku-san, he's beginning to feel rather weak. 

Shikaku-san snorts and _takes a cookie!_

HE. IS. _KIZASHI!_ Overcomer of Challenges, the Unstoppable Force that MOVED an Immovable Object! Shikaku-san, rugged, hates sweets, ambiguously more dangerous than Inoichi-san - Shikaku-san hums and looks at the cookie like he's reconsidering every _clearly incorrect_ notion he's ever held about sweets.

Or he's projecting his desires onto Shikaku-san's mostly blank face.

Either way, Shikaku-san looks to him, looks to Inoichi-san, finishes his cookie and starts,

"So there's a barbeque next weekend."


	23. Chapter 23

Mebuki is feeling under the weather today. She's been working so hard lately! Harvest season always runs the Haruno Trade Conglomerate a little ragged and Mebuki especially tries to step up for Chizue Obaa-sama and.

She was pitiful this morning when she tried to roll out of bed, feverish and hazy-eyed. She liked to rise with Saku-chan so she could kiss their precious child goodbye and tell her to,

"Make them fear you." 

He loves being a part of the Haruno family, even if they're all kind of terrifying. 

But, Mebuki has really been pushing herself and, personally, he thinks Chizue and Mebuki got _each other_ sick.

So he's been tasked with attending a meeting of The Council!

Very exciting.

He's assured that it's not a big deal. Just to take meticulous notes, _extremely_ meticulous notes. He can do that. His shorthand is impeccable. He might even provide doodles.

Mebuki snorts and tells him to go crazy, so long as the notes are perfect.

He sees Inoichi-san! And Shikaku, Chōza, he greets them and Chōza throws his hands up a little, 

"What, no cookies? For shame, I don't even know you anymore!" And it's funny because they've only met not yet months ago. But he loves Chōza, he's so warm! And yes, he could most likely snap Kizashi like a twig over his knee, but he's still the least intimidating person of his shinobi friends!

He even offers a greeting to the Hokage and Hiruzen, err, Hokage-sama asks after him,

"So Shikaku's been telling me about some lemon cookies..." And he is FULL of pride.

And a little anxiety. 

There are a LOT of scary people watching him promise to bring Hokage-same cookies.


	24. Chapter 24

Ayane showed up last night. Saku-chan went to a big sleepover at the Akimichi Compound with all her little friends so Ayane's timing was perfect.

He got scolded, well not quite scolded, but,

"Sakura taught my boy how to sleep on the ceiling. Yoshino couldn't find him the other day when he used it to nap on the underside of the table." 

Yeah, his Saku-chan used to tell him she was just meditating, but he knew what a snore sounded like thank you very much! For whatever it's worth, he offers up,

"I'm sorry? She likes sharing, I blame myself." He's proud so the apology probably sounds a little flat.

"Don't be. She's... She _inspired_ him." As little inflection as Shikaku-san ever spares, there's quite a lot on _inspired_.

His Saku-chan _is_ very inspiring. His wife is like a painting given life, of course Saku-chan is inspiring. Much like this soup he made for Ayane last night! He used herbs and tomatoes from the garden.

Thank you, Yue!

Soup tastes best, fresh at midnight.

Ayane even asked his secret ingredient. It's love.

And fresh ginger. Gives it a nice zing.

But Ayane can't train Saku-chan today. So when she comes home from the sleepover, with what he's assuming is going to be at least one friend, if not a line of all of them holding hands behind her, he's thinking about convincing them to help him make a _BIG_ lunch and they can walk up to the top of the Hokage Monument and have a picnic!

If he uses the excuse that it's for training, he might get away with getting at least Saku-chan to carry baskets for him.

He can be sneaky too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm thinking of writing the occasional bonus chapter from other people's POVs. Someone stop me


	25. Chapter 25

He loves the (general, circumstantial) safety and piece of mind living in a shinobi village offers. Loves that, by and large, his daughter can sneak out from under his nose and she won't ever be likely to come home seriously injured or attacked by vagabonds.

He does worry because he's a rational human being and his daughter is only recently five, but he's not truly frightened. 

And he loves that, lives for that - and for the way his wife smiles at him sometimes like maybe he's the best spouse in the world when in actuality it's her, and also everything involving his precious child, and Naruto-kun ( _AND_ the desire to one day brush Inoichi-san's hair) - however...

It _does_ make it a necessity to reshingle the roof more frequently. He doesn't begrudge the shinobi their preferred way of travel, he'd use the rooftops if he could, but he also doesn't want to pay the shinobi to fix the problem they create.

He won't feed into that vicious cycle! Although it might be safer. He nearly concusses an old man passing by when his grip on his hammer slips!

He tries to shout a warning but when he cranes his head over the edge of the roof he sees the old man on his butt, cane by his hand staring dumbfounded at the hammer that came seemingly from the sky.

Honestly with the eye patch and scarred chin and the crippled arm, he feels like he might be one of the least threatening things to have ever happened to this guy.

Unless those were all construction injuries. 

"Are you alright Oji-san?" The man lifts his head and finds Kizashi on the roof. Gives a wave. Which is a good sign?

Oops, not good enough; the guy has trouble standing on his own and maybe he threw himself back and threw out a hip in the same motion! Probably that.

"Hold on Oji-san I'll be right down!" 


	26. Chapter 26

Kichirou-jii is such a nice guy it's amazing anyone ever got mad enough to mark him up the way he is.

Maybe they really _are_ construction injuries. No wonder he looked so gobsmacked when the hammer almost hit him. Tough guy, survived a lot.

After Kizashi helped him up and inside they sat and chatted for, gosh, hours? When Mebuki came home to a half-shingled roof and he and Kichirou-jii sharing laughs in the kitchen, why she just, actually took it very well.

She went a little pale at the sight of Kichirou-jii, especially after he explained almost killing the man with a hammer. She even goes into full dogeza to beg forgiveness! So formal, he'd just given the man a chocolate and some tea.

Saku-chan meets him the second time Kichirou-jii happens to pop by. Asking after his recipes, because yes, rumors are spreading in the neighborhood about his delicacies.

(He spread the rumors, he's very pleased they stuck.)

Saku-chan had the day off and, bless her, wanted to,

"Spend it with you, Tou-chan!" So he's teaching her the secret to making caramels. She's using the time to eat the caramels and he pretends not to notice, keeps acting fully confused when one or two disappear. And when Kichirou-jii shows up he helps her sneak caramels too.

It's cute. What's even cuter is when Saku-chan gently pats Kichirou-jii's bandaged arm and tells him, 

"Ow!" With such earnest. Oh his precious child, even Kichirou-jii looks a little touched. But that guy's pretty easy to touch, very emotional very open. He's starting to realize the scarier his friends look, the more harmless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kichirou means lucky son, BUT ALSO, according to babynology.com, people with the name Kichirou are mediators, peacemakers and helpers of the world. 
> 
> So many jokes crammed into one name, just thinking about it makes me smile
> 
> ALSO ALSO, I've been meaning to clarify, since the dump of those first twenty chapters, KKB stands for Konoha Keimu Butai, which is the police force run by the Uchiha!


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should be enjoying a vacation, but ya girl can't sleep.

Ayane surprises him again. Except it's not just him. She shows up, on a training day, and with Mebuki by her side claiming talks of importance and.

She doesn't even drink the tea he sets before her. It's too bad, she's missing out on one of his favorite teas!

She gets them together, sits in his armchair while they huddle together on the couch and it's so quiet, so somber. He doesn't like it. Not a fan of uncomfortable silences.

Finally she sighs and breaks from her continuous brooding to simply say,

"I've spoken to The Elders." Which sounds _very_ important. But uhh... 

"That's... Good?" He offers a thumbs up, a thumbs up he puts down under the weight of the stares he finds himself pinned beneath. His wife asks,

"And?" With some greater amount of trepidation.

"They'll accept it." ...Which is about the time he realizes this is about his Saku-chan...

...

 _Ok_ , so they have to explain it to him first, BUT, it's at that moment he is overcome with some sick sense of apprehension and he fears for his child.

Because Mebuki looks half-frightened. Considering, but with an unnatural heaviness. And as she goes to speak Ayane cuts in,

"It's still her choice. She has no obligation, no clan affiliations..." Because, oh yeah, they're Civies. Not important cogs in the shinobi machine, not really.

But they might be. But his daughter very likely _is_. It's still her choice.

But, and this is the important part, she made that years ago didn't she?


	28. Chapter 28

Kichirou-jii comes to visit in the midst of them - he, Mebuki and Ayane - deciding what to tell Saku-chan. It's a two week deliberation and those two weeks couldn't feel longer.

Truly he is blessed to have made such a nice accidental friend.

Kichirou-jii visits him, partakes of his tea and a strawberry pie he'd perfected over the summer, and listens intently as he dumps all his thoughts, feelings, and half-formed rants about the whole situation. It's just nice to get it off his chest.

And a man like Kichirou-jii gets him, understands his tragically civilian fears. That's what's so comforting, Kichirou-jii's just a real down-to-earth sort of guy. 

But, well, Kichirou-jii asks,

"She's made her choice?" And he admits that she has, even if they haven't told her about the most recent bits. And Kichirou-jii follows with, "And you would stop her from chasing her dream?" And he has to stop Kichirou-jii there,

"That's not it. All I want is for her to be happy... She's just, _so young_." FIVE. HIS DAUGHTER IS STILL FIVE. "With work like that, at an age so young, you can ruin a person." 

Cuz the real good shinobi he's met? Men like Shikaku-san, Inoichi-san, Chōza - they're intimidating for sure and he would never cross them, but... They've all got a little piece of something wicked in them.

That's what makes them scary, not what they can do, what they _have_ done. He loves Konoha with all his heart, but if Konoha was a person it's the type of person he wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley.

Kichirou-jii hums and cracks a joke. It doesn't quite break the tension but he certainly appreciates the effort.


	29. Chapter 29

His daughter comes in one day, when she _should_ be training with Ayane - they're going to tell her on Naruto-kun's birthday, so she'll have the months leading up to her own birthday to consider her options - except it doesn't exactly look like his daughter.

Oh sure, she's got the shape of her mother's eyes, his nose and mouth and even the same fall and cut of hair as his daughter. Except for the Uchiha charcoal eyes, hair so deeply pitch black it almost reflects the light off as blue. Like a raven's wing.

Distinctly Uchiha features.

But with his daughter's face, even her voice as she tugs another Uchiha child behind her, declaring,

"Tou-chan! He doesn't believe your tomatoes are the best!" while gesturing at the child behind her wildly. 

A travesty. She adds, low and scandalized,

"He doesn't like sweets either!" But he's dealt with Shikaku-san, a baby Uchiha is hardly a challenge. Especially with the bit about tomatoes.

His ARE the best. His thumb is so green he barely needs seeds to grow produce.

So he feeds the actual Uchiha. And while the Uchiha is chewing a grape tomato very seriously, a puff of smoke saps the dark colors from his daughter's features.

She curses - he admonishes her, they have company! - but still manages to look very smug when he holds his hand out for more tomatoes. She leans a little closer to the Uchiha, impossibly more smug when she tells him,

"Told ya!" And he sticks his tongue out at her... And holds his hand out, _again_ , for even more tomatoes. 

He can't exactly tell his daughter to cool it with the pride when it's true.


	30. Chapter 30

The baby Uchiha is known as Sasuke and young Sasuke-kun comes over on his own sometimes just to raid the garden.

"on his own" in the relative sense, he's old enough to know when shinobi are trying to sneak around his property. And by that, of course, he means that Saku-chan has built within him an instinct to know when sneakiness is afoot.

Sasuke-kun is good company, though. He loves to learn. He's smart like Saku-chan but without the vicious need to bully grown men - which he honestly thinks is just a Haruno trait - and so it's honestly a pleasure to teach Sasuke-kun about the proper way to prepare and pour tea. 

He even shows Sasuke-kun how to make a perfect pie crust! Saku-chan doesn't know that and Sasuke-kun holds the information very dear.

It's sweet, he's touched.

And, apparently, Sasuke-kun's mother loves what he's learning! So he gets to feel useful again. 

His wife and daughter always make certain to express how much they love and appreciate him, but something about the way Sasuke-kun lights up when he talks about being kind to his mother makes Kizashi feel warm and whole.

He's going to show the boy how to properly care for a garden, of every season, next and he hopes the boy will love it just as much. Maybe he won't tell all the secrets on the tomatoes.

It's kind of nice to have a child back in his home regularly.


	31. Chapter 31

He's hosting a big sleepover tonight.

Saku-chan, PLUS Ino-chan, Shikaku-san's son, Chōza's son, Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun. He lets them set up tents in the garden. 

Sasuke-kun, bless him, argues with Naruto-kun about where to place the tent so it doesn't hurt the produce.

He yells at all of the children, even running to Kizashi for support when they show little care for the plants. He loves Sasuke-kun, he's honestly just the sweetest kid.

Naruto-kun is even a little jealous when he finds out Sasuke-kun knows all his information from Kizashi. Naruto-kun demands to be told the precious care tips as well!

And he feels bad for ignoring Saku-chan, even if he isn't really, but, jeez he might just cry again, when he apologizes for spending more time on her friends she pats his hand and tells him,

"You're a good one. They _need_ good ones!" And he honestly didn't realize he could love his child more


	32. Chapter 32

Chōza has been paying attention. He should've known a shinobi would notice, how could he not? His plan had been foolproof, he'd been able to do it!

Chōji-kun has been coming over with Sasuke-kun to learn his trade secrets. _To bring back to the Akimichi!_ It's cheating!

How dare Chōza steal the idea of using one's own child to predate secret recipes! 

Damnit, it was working so well!

And he can't just NOT spread the joy of a good meal or damn good dessert! He can't be the person to turn down a face like that, so earnestly asking how he makes his dark chocolate truffles. It's just not possible.

Sasuke-kun already knows this super secret recipe and had wandered off to the gardens to study the bugs-

There's a shriek of something like true anguish, _actual_ pain and it's Sasuke-kun and he just sprints to the garden and. And Sasuke-kun is crying his eyes out.

He's standing in front of Ganjō-kun and, ooh. 

He must've found the marks Naruto-kun made practicing with Saku-chan last night.

He'd finally conquered the, ahem, "super ninja leaf hand" and had come to learn how to do the, "super ninja walk" after Saku-chan finished with Ayane for the day. She'd been very tired but still pulled Naruto-kun in and helped him until they were both tuckered out.

Ganjō-kun had taken a _bit_ of a beating. 

It's _mostly_ superficial, though the foot-shaped marks blasted into the bark _do_ look rather gruesome. 

And poor, kind-hearted Sasuke-kun is almost inconsolable. 

He gets down on his knees to offer up a big hug, telling Sasuke that, 

"Bark grows back, buddy!"

And Sasuke-kun pushes him away and - _WHOAHISEYESARERED_ \- points at Ganjō-kun and nearly-shouts back, 

"They hurt its insides!" _Mostly_ superficial. Ganjō-kun will survive but it will also bear scars.

"But the roots are ok! Ganjō-kun won't die, it's ok." And Sasuke-kun sniffles and hesitates before diving back in for that hug. When he feels better and pulls away again, his eyes are charcoal black.

The Uchiha tries to compose himself but he is also five and still leaking a few tears as he looks back at Ganjō-kun. He asks, 

"How did this happen." Well. So he actually demands it, all fierce and teary-eyed, and still a little anguished.

And uhh.

He's not really the expert on this. Something about chakra, uhh, con, err concentration- no that's not it. Oh, wait, yes, ok,

"Bad chakra control?" And with all his confidence, it still doesn't sound like he's sure he knows what he's talking about. Because he isn't. 

And Sasuke-kun looks horrified!....

And then he looks very... Focused. Sasuke-kun calms a little, gazes up at him with tears finally drying, and, ever so quietly,

"Can. Can good chakra control fix it?" He doesn't know, and admits as much with a shrug. Sasuke-kun looks away, but spooks a bit like a scared cat when he notices Chōji-kun watching from the opened door.

"You 'kay?" He calls unsurely and Kizashi's heart almost can't handle it. Also his diet definitely doesn't help.

And so he ends up teaching the boys his tomato bisque recipe and, when Chōji-kun insists on walking Sasuke-kun home, he sends them off each with a basket of fresh produce.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I went to a wedding today. It was beautiful, i danced until i had blisters on my feet. Don't regret it, ten outta ten would recommend.


	33. Chapter 33

He's made mistakes somewhere. 

He's been bringing home strays since he was old enough to walk. He never meant any harm he just liked to care for things. Like most things that breathed! 

Was that a fault!?

...

It was, wasn't it? 

Saku-chan started this and he encouraged it, curse those damn doe-eyed cuties!

He's kidding, he would never take it out on them. It's not their faults they're precious.

And it's not their faults Fugaku fucking Uchiha is sitting across from him, looking like an actual Shinigami, not touching his tea OR raspberry truffles.

It's a bad sign. And he's nervous. So when Fugaku Fucking Uchiha demands,

"What happened to my son yesterday."

He, naturally, blurts out,

"He saw Ganjō-kun!" Which. Is wrong. Ok, it's very wrong. Because he says that, and Fugaku _Fucking_ Uchiha does, a thing? He does some thing? And for sure, Kizashi is _This.Close._ To pissing in his favorite chair while genuinely hallucinating that he is fully dead, super absolutely dead, just the deadest of deads.

And so he speaks so quickly he's actually not sure how Fugaku FUCKING Uchiha follows, to explain that Ganjō-kun is a tree, a tree his daughter used to use for practicing "ninja stuff" - and yes he does say "ninja stuff" in front of Fugaku _FUCKING_ Uchiha, like the idiot he is - until Sasuke-kun yelled at them, but last night it was late and Saku-chan was tired so she probably just told Naruto-kun to go for it and without even meaning to-

"Stop." And he stops. Which is the first good thing he's done since Fugaku!

**_FUCKING!_ **

Uchiha!

\- got here. And he breathes while he's at it. Hadn't been doing that, whoops. And then, dumbfounded, and excruciatingly slowly,

"My son. Unlocked his Sharigan. _Because of a tree._ " He's a little offended, and almost blurts out that Ganjō-kun is a very good tree. He tries for a more neutral route with,

"Is that...a bad thing?" Because he for sure doesn't know. And. There's this weird thing that happens where Fugaku.

** _F._ **

** _U._ **

** _C._ **

** _K._ **

** _I._ **

** _N._ **

** _G._ **

Uchiha... Looks like. He kinda doesn't know either. 


	34. Chapter 34

Naruto-kun comes upon him one day as he's attempting to build a fence. He looks a little surprised to see him, which is. This is _his_ house. Of course Naruto-kun knows it's his, so...

He's probably looking for Saku-chan. Or, honestly, any of the minions his daughter has claimed as her own. They're as likely to be here as they are in their own homes, it's an easy assumption to make.

But Naruto-kun stuffs his hands in his pockets and asks,

"Whatcha doin?"

"Building a fence, wanna help?" He only adds the last bit to see the way Naruto-kun's nose wrinkles. The blonde immediately responds with a,

"Nah." But he still hovers around, looking for, someone? Something? More than that, though, he hovers around looking _nervous_.

Has someone hurt him?

"Can I. Practice my ninja walk?"

"The super ninja walk?"

"Uh-huh!"

"Sure! But uhh..." Maybe not on Ganjō-kun. Sidenote, he hasn't seen Sasuke since The Incident and he misses his little buddy! He has heard from Shika-kun that Chōji-kun and Sasuke-kun have been hanging out so he at least knows that Sasuke-kun maybe isn't in trouble with FFU. "How bout in the kiddy pool?"

Which is how he, Kizashi, Keeper of Second-Hand Vague Shinobi Information, is the one to tell Naruto-kun that, 

"Ninjas can walk on anything?" To which Naruto responds,

"Part two!" While dropping a fist into one palm. So Naruto-kun takes to the challenge with a cry of joy and that's how he gains company for the day.

After a while with little success, and he can't offer more than shrugs when Naruto-kun asks if he has any tips, the kid starts to lose a little of that passion.

He teaches Naruto-kun how to float, though, and that just manages to drive the kid's passion once more!

It's nice. Naruto-kun hasn't been around as much lately. And when he has been, he's been skittish. It's worrying, he's worried. The boy's birthday is soon and. Well that means it'll be time to tell Saku-chan about Ayane's proposition.

He's still scared. 

"Whya building the fence for?" Bless Naruto-kun for the distraction.

"Hmm, I might tell you if you wanted to help-"

"Sounds boring." Because it is. But it's still very funny to see Naruto-kun just immediately lose interest in the story, turning to lounge in the water. Since the SNW is proving quite difficult a task, the blonde had taken to splashing around, ever the content child.

"I'm trying to keep animals out." He tells the boy, hammering a nail into one of the boards. He's got a few meters of fence made so far, and he's just been trying to teach himself so he's feeling very good about those few meters.

"I like animals!"

"Well I do too, but they've been getting into my garden." And that's that. Because Naruto-kun falls silent, eerily silent.

There's the sound of water sloshing, feet hitting the dirt, and by the time he turns around Naruto-kun is already standing right in front of him. And, oh gosh, he looks like a guilty pup that piddled on the floor. 

"You don't. Gotta build that fence." Oh. Oh his poor baby, he. He's struck by two thoughts

_I will destroy ANYTHING that hurts you._

And,

_Oh I just wanna keep him!_

"Naruto-kun..." And he waits but Naruto-kun doesn't look up at him. So he puts his hands on Naruto-kun's shoulders, gently squeezes and even more gently shakes, and "Naruto, if you aren't aware I'll put it plainly, no matter what time of day or night, if you need a meal I will ALWAYS cook it for you. Do you understand?" 

A tear slips down the boy's cheek and he pulls that sweet baby in for a hug and makes a little vow to himself. He's not putting up with this, not anymore.

This will require cupcakes, many, many cupcakes.


	35. Chapter 35

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When i was writing this, autocorrect changed "kami-sama" to lesbian. I would ask that you read this with that in mind because I'm still fucking laughing.

Two trays of cupcakes, a pie, a cake, three different types of cookies.

His weapons of mass destruction.

Bribery at its absolute sweetest.

Hokage-sama knows bribery when he sees it, he must, because he surely doesn't react beyond the raising of a brow when Kizashi shows up for his appointment.

Yes he did make an appointment even though he delivers sweets to the office once a month, he wanted this to be a grand gesture, something to show Hokage-sama how serious this is. 

He even brought a thermos of Hokage-sama's favorite matcha blend.

He. Came. _Prepared_.

So he prepares a plate and pours the tea and waits until Hokage-sama at least hums after the first pleasing sip before he starts with,

"It's been nearly five years since the Kyūbi attack," and Hokage-sama doesn't pause in trying the cake - it's a denser, chocolate cake with a ganache that he personally thinks is just shy of sinful - but there is a sharpness in his gaze. "And in all that time, you have held this village together, kept it thriving, _growing_."

The sharpness recedes, _just_ a bit. And he feels bold enough to continue, 

"I like to think of you as a miracle maker, jeez I watch over a couple kids for a couple friends and I already can't keep up - you take care of an ENTIRE hidden village! The biggest, the strongest, the best place in any of the nations!" 

Hokage-sama stops eating, watching him intently. None of the sharpness now, but something else there behind his eyes. Considering, careful. 

This will probably get him killed but, a few deep breaths and he jumps in,

"But a title like Shinobi no Kami doesn't make you any closer to being Kami-sama than I. You're a man. You're human, and things slip through the cracks sometimes. It's why you have a council, why you have advisors. But they're human too!

"So things slip. Small things. Big things. Nothing things and precious things. Things you can think back and say, _I should have noticed that I'm sure I did_ , and you even might've. But they slip."

"And you say all of this to...?"

"Say that I'd like to foster Uzumaki Naruto-kun."


	36. Chapter 36

Ayane drops Saku-chan off personally the night before Naru-kun's birthday. The boy answers the door for them and a very tired Saku-chan happily accepts a hug and cry of,

"Saku-nee!" Saku-chan even pets his head after she squeezes him in a big hug. Ayane greets the boy, ruffles his hair then Naru-kun drags Saku-chan into the kitchen for food and Ayane... gives him a look.

"I'm telling her tomorrow. You _know_ I'm telling her tomorrow." And he won't budge on that, it's one thing he can be adamant about. 

And... Ayane shifts, eyes cutting away and back and. 

"...you already told her." Ayane blushes. Nods. "And?"

"She asked if she could think about it."

Huh. 

"Did she... Say what, uhh, Yuzu thought?"

"Yuzu," and Ayane pauses and tries to find words for a long moment. "Yuzu said that politics are rough, and that one usually only lives once so. Sakura-chan should make the choice."

... _huh_.

"Then what was the point of-"

"I gave her until YOU came to speak with her about it to decide. She's a genius-" ouch. Way to throw his words back in his face. Jeez she held onto that one. "-and... Err, she's hard to keep secrets from." 

Ha.

Yeah.

"She has seemed kinda...." Restless? Anxious? Tired?

"Troubled," Ayane provides. "But still too smart to allow it to affect her performance. If anything, it's driven her..."

And that's a good thing, it must be, but Ayane looks pretty troubled herself. 


	37. Chapter 37

The centerpiece for the feast he unleashes upon Naru-kun for his fifth birthday is a full pig that slow cooked on a metal rack over a bed of coals all day. He'd had to conscript Chōza for that venture, right after sunrise at the Morning Market - which is what becomes of the open market on festival days.

He's more than lucky to have people like Shikaku-san, Inoichi-san, and Chōza there to really, truly help him pull out all the stops for the grand party he envisions.

There's a pool made from a Doton jutsu that he fills with the hose, so much food from the Akimichi that they can't fit it all in the kitchen, as well as sweets that Sasuke-kun - who gave him the BIGGEST HUG EVER when he arrived with his mother, father, and brother in tow - made with the help of his family (using Kizashi's recipes, thank you very much).

Naru-kun never stops smiling.

Ino-chan gets him Itai-kun the cactus, Shika-kun gives him a shōgi board and promises to show him how to play before the sleepover tonight, Chōji-kun gives him a plushy eggplant nearly half Naru-kun's size, and Sasuke-kun gives him a dusty old book that Naru-kun takes very gently and carefully, mouthing the title with a furrow between his brows.

He cracks it open and, eyes widening,

"Is this book about me?"

"It's about the Uzumaki clan!" Sasuke-kun looks particularly proud of himself, glowing under the breathless, reverent thanks Naru-kun eeks out. He's still a little shaken, a little wobbly when he opens up Saku-chan's gift to him.

A deep blue shirt with the Haruno symbol in white by the hip and on the back, and the where the symbol sits on the back of the shirt the Uzumaki swirl has been carefully stitched into its center.

It's a good day, Naru-kun cries but only because he's really happy.

A little while after the parents thin out, Kichirou-jii even stops by with a scroll. He talks about a son from long ago, a girlfriend, Vague Shinobi Stuff.

It's a birthday present for Naru-kun, because,

"Everyone knows his birthday." And bids goodbye. Such a nice man. 

And then Ayane arrives. Mikoto-sama stays while FFU excuses himself, pulling his eldest close with an arm slung over his shoulder. And Saku-chan comes in from the backyard, where just Inoichi-san lingers to watch over The Brood still splashing in their makeshift pool, and that means it's time.


	38. OMAKE I: Mikoto Uchiha

Dan'na-sama has been acting strangely.

Kind and sweet in a way she hasn't seen him since, well, before he became a captain of the KKB! Not quite decades, not quite centuries, and not even entirely new behavior, but strange in the way that-

For as long as Itachi has been showing his skill, Dan'na-sama has pushed him. He must work more, he must move faster, he must hit harder, he must be better, he must be the _best_. A constant driving force that she watched begin to make her eldest fade.

Chūnin at ten and then ANBU starts sniffing around.

And Dan'na-sama had wanted that, as the Elders had wanted that, for a man on the inside. A mole made out of _her_ child. 

And then Sasuke comes home with his Guard talking about an activated Sharingan and she sees something she never thought she might witness again in Dan'na-sama.

Fear.

 _Terror_.

His own eyes blaze Sharingan red and he checks the boy over and the next day he leaves with all the fires of Hell burning within him, looking ready to commit so many types of murder.

And when he returns he. He begins to act so strangely. 

There's long periods of silence and intense staring over dinner and breakfast, a particularly passive attitude in meetings with the Elders and, after weeks of the odd behavior, Dan'na-sama begins to talk with the boys.

He asks them questions he used to, like,

"What are you doing?" But he follows them up with, "Are you having fun?" 

He's bonding with them, smiling and ruffling their hair and he tells Itachi "I love you." and he tells Sasuke, "I'm proud of you." and he tells her, "I live for you."

And it happens slowly and it happens all at once. 


	39. Chapter 39

It's Ino-chan that accepts for Saku-chan with a cry of,

"You'll have us forever, you get this ONCE!" when Saku-chan shows herself to be hesitant over being an Official Apprentice. 

And so that is how his daughter becomes a ward of the Uchiha. 

Her friends start piling into the house more often, led by Ino-chan.

And he sees that odd, troubled weariness leave his daughter over the weeks after she becomes an Apprentice. And Sasuke-kun comes around again! He and Chōji-kun had spent the time away from him scouring the Konoha Library _and_ the Uchiha library for information on how to make the plants grow.

Sasuke-kun is determined to learn how to use something called a mokuton, his daughter is currently learning how to actually breathe fire and Naru-kun has gotten particularly close with Shika-kun - to the degree that they play shōgi most days and read carefully through books and scrolls together every other.

Things are going well and Umino-kun became a chūnin and he's even looking into becoming a teacher!

Ino-chan takes full responsibility for that. She's very proud of it. He's proud too. His Brood is growing fast. Faster every day.

And one night he is roused from sleep by a gentle, gentle shaking. Eyes hanging above him, glowing like hot coals and it's so dark he can't see the face that holds them, can barely even hear this shinigami breathe coppery air across his face.

And when the shinigami speaks it's in the voice of someone he knows.

Fugaku.


	40. Chapter 40

He's got a secret. And he's supposed to keep it, _HIM!_ From people like Saku-chan and Naru-kun and Mebuki!

Chaos starts up in the village after Fugaku kills a whole handful of Elders. Cuts up their faces and mutilates their eyes and steals away with belongings.

Scrolls and weapons and all kinds of treasures.

Oh, he knows what's stolen away? Haha, funny that, yeah, so-

FUGAKU! GAVE HIM SOMETHING. 

A large scroll, full of goodies oh yes.

He's getting more gray hairs. Why Fugaku went and did that shit-! 

But no-one even knows Fugaku stopped by the house that night he became a missing nin. Which makes him anxious. Someone might find out. He'd get in trouble he'd lose his children it would jeopardize the Haruno family- he can't even tell someone.

Not even someone like Kichirou-jii. The man mourns the loss of those poor Uchiha, hopes they lived full lives, hopes their families can recover. Kichirou-jii is honestly just such a nice man.

But not nice enough for him to even think of putting a hair on his family's head in danger by revealing the secret that will most likely burn a hole in his tongue. Bring on the pain! This is just another challenge to his being, and if there's one thing about that rings true it's that he rises to any occasion!


	41. Chapter 41

One day Sasuke-kun and Chōji-kun come over, hand in hand the precious dears, with what has to be an Uchiha - because those beautiful features can only belong to Ayane's people - and while they scamper off to the garden, this handsome young man seats himself at the table and.

Just watches Kizashi.

Which isn't any stranger than how some of his strangest company acts. He prepares his personal favorite tea, a lighter blend that tastes terrifically like cupcakes, and cream puffs! He'd finally managed to talk the local cafe into telling him their recipe.

He'd had to trade the recipe for his pudding. Worth it.

"So _you're_ Haruno Kizashi." He startles, spilling a bit of tea down his chin. He frowns at the grinning boy before him, and confirms,

"So I am. I suppose this is about the lemon cookies?" And the boy throws his head back and laughs and the way it makes his _curls bounce-!_

Fucking shinobi and their perfect hair. Saku-chan's hair has been looking healthier too. It MUST be chakra.

"I _have_ heard about lemon cookies, I hadn't realized that was also your doing."

"If you're hearing about sweets I can guarantee they're mine." Is that smug? He's being smug. Whoops. It makes the boy laugh again, and when he calms he admits,

"You're not what I envisioned." while still chuckling.

"Thank you? You're. Um. You have perfect hair, which is exactly what I expect from shinobi." He's still being smug.

"How do you know I'm a shinobi?" 

"I just _said_ your hair is perfect, what else do I need?" 


	42. Chapter 42

His daughter is probably more excited about Umino-kun becoming a teacher at the academy than the young man himself. She makes a cake, ices it herself, it's a little messy but damn it's cute.

The kitchen is a mess and he hates that he insists on cleaning it.

And then another Saku-chan pops up next to him and, he, there's two Saku-chan's. Double. How, what, WHAT.

"More hands cleans faster!" 

She doesn't want to miss the start of Umino-kun's first day.

The second Saku-chan carries him like a princess while the first carries the cake as they _"jog"_ through the village to make it to the academy on time. 

They run into a room, that he thought was at random, and there's Umino-kun writing on the board.

"Iruka-sensei!" There are already a few children gathered in the seats and the Saku-chan holding him apologizes and sets him down to stand in front of the class and tell them,

"Hard work is everything!" And does a flip and disappears in a puff of smoke. Of the handful of children sitting there, only two look suitably impressed. One of the three Uchiha by the window tells his Saku-chan to, 

"Oh lay off it Sakura! We're _here_ to work hard!" And then the girl flexes and his Saku-chan has to beg Umino- err, Iruka-sensei's pardon so she can flip backwards onto his desk and flex back with a shout of,

"Make sure you whip all these kids into shape, Ito-chan!" And the three Uchiha giggle, the other early risers watching them strangely. Especially a boy with hair that honestly might be silkier than Inoichi-san's.

The travesty!

Maybe it's a shampoo, some secret shinobi shampoo only sold in secret shinobi shampoo shops. He can get Naru-kun to ask, Kami-sama knows the boy has inherited Saku-chan's puppydog eyes. 

He's almost entirely certain they've spread the trick to all their little friends.

He can't just _discourage_ the behavior. Little shinobi are supposed to be cute or sneaky enough to trick adults!


	43. Chapter 43

He can be a bit of a homebody. He's the first to admit it, he's been working on it - pretty successfully if the past few years speak to his efforts - and he's honestly just happy it hasn't stuck with the kids too much.

Naru-kun definitely spends his fair share of time in the household but Kizashi thinks that's more to do with having a family and a home than being necessarily a junior homebody.

Unfortunate side effect of being a homebody, however, is that village news doesn't always reach him quickly. It honestly feels like he's the last person to know that, apparently, last week his daughter shattered the wall surrounding the Uchiha Compound.

He only finds out because of Sasuke-kun deciding to talk to the plants in the garden. His new master plan to help them grow faster.

Ino-chan, Shika-kun and Chōji-kun show up after their first day training together as the new Ino-Shika-Chō!! Which is definitely a thing that he knew existed before today!...

They come for snacks, Chōji-kun accepts a juice and a plate of cookies and scampers off to find Sasuke-kun. Shika-kun goes to find Naru-kun and Kizashi bribes Ino-chan to confirm about his precious beautiful wonderful ( _property damaging_ ) child.

And Ino-chan laughs and tells him,

"She was so proud! You should've seen the smile on her face." Ino-chan looks only a little conspiratorial when she lowers her voice to impart, "I think she did it on purpose. She gets this _look_ when she's planning something..."

He knows the look. 

It's a look Naru-kun is beginning to adopt, bumping shoulders with Shika-kun in the living room, whispering over that scroll they favor so much.

He should probably tell Saku-chan not to knock down buildings. He'd hoped they'd make it to her sixth birthday before he'd have to actually specify that she shouldn't, but just a month shy feels like a win.


	44. Chapter 44

His daughter is learning how to use a sword.

He. He has mixed feelings.

On one hand, she's recognized as an adult by the Uchiha because she can breath fire proficiently and she's about to test for a hitai-ate.

On the other, she just turned six and she still likes to be read fairytales before bed. She's even started making her own up! It's cute! She's cute!

She's practicing with a bokken in the garden!

Sasuke-kun is talking to the eggplants, Chōji-kun and Naru-kun are fawning over a particularly pretty butterfly, Shika-kun is napping above the door (making the shadows dance? Is he, is that, uhh...?) and Ino-chan is lounging in the kiddy pool, occasionally splashing water in Saku-chan's direction. 

That occasional splash always makes Saku-chan burst into a fit of giggles and thusly encourages Ino-chan to keep splashing and he loves that. Loves the distraction it provides from his fretting.

His Brood is going to start attending The Academy soon and his daughter is about to skip it altogether.

He'll have to make lunch for Umino-kun at least once a week, make certain that his kids are well and looked after properly.


	45. Chapter 45

Kichirou-jii shows up one day, very somber. Which is strange, Kichirou-jii is such a fun loving sort of guy! Always ready with a silly story or a laugh! He comes in and looks around like he expects the children to come running through, and then he seats himself at the table and really seems to start considering something very heavy.

He sips his tea and savors a bite of the tart Kizashi sets before him. And then he begins,

"I've been alive a long time. Twice over your lifetime," and he chuckles and Kizashi chuckles because what else is he supposed to do? "I've seen... Everything? Death and birth and betrayal and loyalty. Dark and light and the rise of villains and the fall of champions, and all those things that take place in between.

"Everything I've done, everything I've _ever_ done has been for a purpose beyond myself. For this place, for you, for _everyone_. And I've made sacrifices! At the expense of myself and, especially, at the expense of others. And it has been worth it, every drop of blood spared, every... It's been worth it!"

He's a little entranced. Kichirou-jii has always been a weaver of tales but now he's so passionate, so raw and. And he continues,

"And the only regret I've allowed myself in that time is not stepping up when I had... everything to lose. I was. Scared, I suppose. Anxious, maybe. Unready to face death, certainly. And so I've done everything to rectify that moment, that instant of hesitation. I've done _everything_...

"And you. _You._ " Kichirou-jii laughs but Kizashi doesn't laugh with him because this is. It's kind of a mean laugh? "You just waltz into a Joint Council Meeting, bosom buddies with three prominent clan heads _and_ Hiruzen-" _huh._ That's weird. "While your child, your _Civilian child_ has been charming the Uchiha and my-"

He stops.

He sounds frustrated. 

Kizashi is starting to get this really odd feeling. _Sneakiness is afoot._

Kichirou-jii reaches up and begins pulling off the bandages around his head, and while he does it he says,

"You've been kind to me. I repay my debts." And opens his eye and hey! It's just like Sasuke-kun and-


	46. Chapter 46

Saku-chan has a scroll in her room. Old and fancy. 

He doesn't remember her having it or talking about it. It's on her desk, a thin red ribbon still wrapped around it with a little tag that has her name carefully written on it. 

An unopened gift. 

That's what draws his attention the most. Saku-chan is a very grateful person, appreciative of her friends and. Well the surname stamped on it definitely sounds familiar but then again, he can't really recall meeting a Shimura.

She probably got it from Ayane.

Oh! Maybe it's the shampoo!

He should ask Inoichi-san at the next barbeque. Chōji-kun will be six soon and that means a BIG party. He's thinking about making cheesecake. He's never made it before but he's got a few weeks to practice and he refuses to be beaten!

Sasuke-kun can help him. He's been a bit withdrawn since Fugaku left. Kizashi thinks that's where the talking to plants came from. He's got friends and support but plants won't up and split in the night, and that's an absolute.

Oh! He should invite Mikoto-sama for dinner! She could bring Itachi-kun and, of course Ayane would come because Saku-chan would insist on it, maybe Shisui-kun if he was available. They could make a night out it! Ooh, it could become a thing!

THEY SHOULD COME TO THE BARBEQUE! Oh that would be perfect! 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know right? What the fuck is going on?!
> 
> Honestly I meant to post this before my shift last night, and then i meant to post it after I got off of work this morning.


	47. Chapter 47

"Tou-chan?" It's been a while since Saku-chan has used that kind of sweet voice. Careful and questioning and-

She must want something. She pops around the corner with her hands behind her back and he thinks she might've even broken something.

She stops before him and rocks back and forth, heel to toe and back again.

It's suspicious.

She's suspicious.

He goes to speak and she cuts in,

"Tou-chan did Kichirou-jii give this to you?" And she holds out the scroll that'd begun to collect dust on her desk. Still wrapped in the red ribbon. Still with the name tag. 

And it's probably a good question, but uhh,

"Who... Is Kichirou-jii?" Awww Saku-chan is cute even when frustrated!

" _Kichirou-jii._ " She says it again, but with emphasis and... Nope, not ringing a bell.

"You shouldn't talk to strangers... _Even if_ you can beat them up."

"Tou-chan _you_ talked to him!"

"Yes, well," shit! Err, uhh, "I'm an adult!" Haha! 

"Me too?" Saku-chan points to the hitai-ate and. Does that count? As a ward of the Uchiha, she is technically an adult but...

"Give it about... Ten more years. No! _Twenty_." And her cheeks puff up and she glowers at him and it's precious.

"Tou-chan! I'm serious!" So is he. She's too young to be talking to strange old men.


	48. OMAKE II: Fugaku Uchiha

His plan is to run at full speed, with minimal breaks, to reach the border of Hi no Kuni and then create bunshin to send off in every direction while he heads towards maybe Mizu no Kuni.

It shouldn't take a week.

By the end of the fifth day, even despite careful use of chakra to keep himself energized, his knees hit the ground and he finds himself all but face down in the dirt. Panting, sweating, he has the thought that it was truly foolish to allow himself to grow as lax as he had after Sasuke's birth.

He'd been a captain of the Konoha Keimu Butai! He'd been a jōnin!

He'd been out of practice for a while!

_Kami-sama he's exhausted._

"Hiya!" He whips around, kunai already in hand and when he tries to stand he stumbles, which could be the death of him except. There's a man there, cocking his masked face about and he waves. Like an excited child.

It's positively disturbing.

"You look tired!" He throws his kunai and the man sidesteps it, and twirls? And _giggles?_

What. The fuck?

"Want some help, Ji-chan?" The man is fast, next to him in a blink with hand extended. And he thinks about lunging at the man with another kunai. His legs feel like they could support his weight again. Instead he asks,

"Why?"

And the strange masked man giggles again, which is honestly making his skin crawl, and throws his arms out wide to exclaim,

"The dawn of a new age is fast approaching and peace will reign!" ...ok... " _And,_ you're like me!" And the man taps his mask, where an eye might be.

Or might not be?

It could mean he's got a Sharingan. It could mean a _lot_ of things, if this overgrown child could just _specify_.

And maybe it is an Uchiha behind that mask, reading his thoughts in the microexpressions that flash over his face, because that childish tone drops a little and the man tells him,

"It's a big world to find yourself alone in, Ji-chan." and again, he extends a hand.

It's too often for him to be making deals, two in under a week.

Maybe this one will only want a finger and he can keep his eye?

...Fugaku takes the offered hand.


	49. Chapter 49

Recently, the Clan Heads finally got together for a meeting of great importance. A meeting that'd been quite a while in the making, a meeting that he caters because it's a meeting that takes place in his home.

Between the brains of Haruno, Yamanaka, Nara, Akimichi and Uchiha, they finally hammer out the details to a proper schedule regarding the children.

School starts next spring and the kids are trying to spend the months leading up to the term with each other, as much as they're able.

Which means MANY sleepovers. 

The schedule goes a little something like -

Saku-chan and Mebuki rise before the sun to greet each other and the day and Saku-chan scuttles off to begin training. He rises _with_ the sun and prepares enough breakfast for five baby shinobi and by the time he's finished, Ino-Shika-Chō and Naru-kun usually manage to drag yawning bodies through the front door/down the stairs to greet him and breakfast.

Saku-chan comes in sweaty but glowing halfway through and the breakfast crowd picks up energy. They part ways after breakfast, with Naru-kun usually running alongside Ino-Shika-Chō for their training while Saku-chan goes off to do D-ranks.

Sasuke-kun comes in around ten - his Uchiha guard-of-the-day trailing in after him because they've all given up hiding on the roof or wherever when there's food in the kitchen they could be eating - and talks to the plants for a while then meditates, usually until Ino-Shika-Chō and Naru-kun wander back for lunch.

At which point they gather Sasuke-kun and scurry off to the Uchiha Compound, the Nara Compound, the Akimichi compound or the Yamanaka Compound for further fun times and, from Monday to Thursday, a place to spend the night.

He hosts the kids Friday through Sunday.

It's a good schedule, he sees Sasuke-kun coming out of his shell again sees Naru-kun happier than ever and sees his daughter lavish gifts upon everyone in her life.

Sometimes Saku-chan slips him or Mebuki ryō for broken things or after meals, dear thing trying to earn her keep at six. He and Mebuki have made a pact to stash all the money and when Saku-chan's ready to leave the house for her own greener pastures she'll have all the money in Hi no Kuni to fund it.

\- And it goes like that until Saku-chan gets her first C-rank. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was doing so good updating what happened?
> 
> Instant Hotel, that's what. And work. Lots of work.


	50. Chapter 50

Her mission will take approximately three days. And that's all he's allowed to know. So says Saku-chan.

Ayane takes him aside to quickly tell him it's a simple mission that'll take place south of the village, almost strictly reconnaissance.

It's fine. It'll be fine.

Mebuki sleeps in the first day Saku-chan is gone. She rises with him, helps him make breakfast, and then eats with him and the kids. It's sweet and she's sweet, catching up on all they've been up to even despite that she knows what they've been up to.

He keeps his better half informed!

And then, after they've finished eating and Ino-Shika-Chō start trying to cheer up somber listless Naru-kun to join them on their training, his beautiful wonderful amazing wife tugs the boy closer with a,

"Sorry kids, I'll be taking him with me today."

Shika-kun looks the most fierce about it, almost petulant when he complains,

"He's gotta work on his chains!" With a little foot stomp! And yet,

"I wanna come too!" Ino-chan steps forward so determined, missing the look of betrayal that flashes over Shika-kun's face. A look that sours into the cutest little scowl. So, obviously, Shika-kun also insists on joining them. 

It's cute, and also possibly dangerous.

Learning how to conduct business from a Haruno is like learning how to devour meat from a shark.

It's probably fine.

Chōji-kun stays with him and helps him clean, the sweet boy. And the way he lights up when Sasuke-kun arrives! Oh it just melts his heart.


	51. Chapter 51

The second day Saku-chan is gone starts much like the first. Mebuki sleeps in and helps him prepare breakfast, eats with him and the kids.

Except this time, when they're wrapping up it's Ino-chan that declares,

"I'm gonna run the flower shop today! And you're gonna help!" She points to Naru-kun specifically, and again Shika-kun puffs up like the particularly upset child he is. The boy loves spending time with Naru-kun, and it's understandable; Naru-kun is a sweet, wonderful boy that only wants and sees the best in others.

Ino-chan won't let him join, though. She says as much,

"Chōji's the cutest but he doesn't care, that leaves me an Naruto!"

Oh! Oh the hurt on Shika-kun's face! His cheeks puff up and his face goes red and he slaps a hand to his chest and exclaims,

"I'm cute!"

"Nuh-uh. You got a mean face." The _horror_. Tears start to well up but Shika-kun scrubs them away and declares that, in fact,

" _Your_ face is mean!"

And Ino-chan has _never_ been more offended.

"How _dare_ you! Saku says I'm the prettiest lily in the whole world!"

"Sakura isn't here to _lie!_ "

He and Mebuki step in at this point to separate the children before they can begin wielding their forks against each other. 

And so he spends the day chaperone to Naru-kun, Ino-chan and Shika-kun while they run the Yamanaka flower shop. And it's _terrifying_. 

Ino-chan and Naru-kun keep spinning tales about their dead parents to sell more flowers. Shika-kun deliberately makes silly bouquets and, acting younger than he is - because Shika-kun is small for his age - sells them to customers as his _f-f-first boo-kit!_

He plays along, of course. Even heaves little sighs and turns to wipe at "tears", getting choked up when customers ask for details.


	52. Chapter 52

Day three is a return to their usual schedule. Mostly.

Mebuki rises early and leaves him with a kiss pressed to his brow. He rises with the sun and-

And he almost trips over his son when he opens the bedroom door, Naru-kun a yawning beast right next to it. Waiting for him, because,

"I wanna-" another big yawn from the blonde. "-wanna help with breakfast!" Which is just precious. He scoops the boy up, propping him on a hip and carrying him down to the kitchen. He sets Naru-kun on the counter - and the boy immediately starts kicking his feet through the air - and asks of him,

"So what's for breakfast, big guy?"

"Mmmmm pancakes."

"Chocolate chip or blueberry?" The furrow of those little blonde brows, the uncertainty the deep deliberation-! He puts a stop to it with a chuckle and ruffling Naru-kun's hair, "We can do _both_."

And so they make both.

Ino-Shika-Chō toddle in slow, brightening up when Naru-kun dashes around the counter to aim a flying hug at the trio. 

Breakfast is a slower affair than usual and, when it comes to a close, the children end up scampering into the garden instead of off to training. He opens the window above the sink to let the sounds of hide-n-seek filter in while he cleans.

When Sasuke-kun arrives, he barely has time to greet Kizashi before Ino-chan dashes in to pull him out into a very serious game of _The Ground is Lava_.

They're going to ruin the paneling. Maybe he should be upset about that, but a particularly high shriek of laughter - from Shika-kun, of them all! - drifting in on the breeze.... _Nah_ , he's not mad. It's simply impossible.

It's a good day and as sundown approaches, it promises to be a good night. The kids want to camp out in the backyard and who is he to stop them? 

He helps them set up the tents. And he knows his good day is partly due to the imminent return of his precious Saku-chan and he's excited! Ino-chan has been so sure of it all day and her energy is terribly infectious and-

He startles at the knock on the front door, and then his heart leaps because that _must_ be her! He calls out that _I'm coming, hold on!_ and that manages to summon Ino-chan from the backyard. She's a blonde blur zipping by, nearly-screaming out,

"Sakura!" like a kiddy war cry. It's cute. She's cute. 

Less cute is the second cry; a startled, horrified thing that sounds very much like it pains Ino-chan to choke it out,

" _Sakura!_ " And he's not sprinting, because he trips over his own feet (and the rug), but he stumbles around the corner and.

And there's his daughter. His Saku-chan, his pride and joy and.

And she's got a fat lower lip with a dark split in the middle, a wicked black eye, one side of her head shaved with what must've been a knife if the bandaged ear is anything to go by.

His daughter.

His _six-year-old_.

And there is a _**Rage**_ in him.


	53. Chapter 53

Ino-chan was just the first on the scene - the boys stumble their way into the living room behind him, led by Naru-kun and his call for,

"Saku-nee!" And then the gasps that come when they see her, a rising cacophony of devastated darlings. They rush her and, as he watches, her eyes well up with tears and she sags into their arms and begins to cry.

 _Really_ cry, like she hasn't since... _Ever_.

She was such a happy baby, such a lovely child, such a sweet daughter-

He's surprised how easy it is to drag Ayane outside. She probably (definitely) let's him pull her along and she absolutely let's him yank her by her flak jacket so he can snarl in her face,

"What happened!" and it's a fierce demand that tastes of smoke and burns like fire as it slips between his bared teeth. Ayane plucks his hands from her jacket with little effort. It's a bit insulting. 

"I can't tell you." And she's only got her her thumb and index to hold him back and she _is_ like it's nothing. 

"The fuck you can't! _Tell me!_ "

"I promised." Promised. _PROMISED!_ She fucking, "I promised Ino-chan I'd bring Sakura back safe and I've already broken that. I promised Sakura I wouldn't tell what happened and I fully intend on keeping it."

He might hit her. If she ever loosens the grip on him, he's _going_ to hit her. But then her eyes narrow and her voice drops and she accuses,

"You _know_ what she's like." And he does but-

"Tou-chan?" but Naru-kun pokes his head out and he's released and spun around so quickly it makes him dizzy. "Saku-nee is taking a bath..." and Naru-kun hesitates there, shuffling outside and gently closing the door behind him. And his big blue eyes look first to Ayane and then to Kizashi. And, slowly,

"Do you... Know how to cut hair?"


	54. Chapter 54

Turns out Ayane is the better hairdresser.

Imagine that: A killer being good with a blade.

_Shocking._

And when he's shooing her out the door, desperately trying to resist the urge to slam it behind her for good measure, Ino-chan runs up to see Ayane off! It's sweet, she's swee-

"You owe me a debt." Err. He wonders if he looked even half as vicious when trying to get information out of Ayane. (He _knows_ he didn't.) And the low demand stalls Ayane steps away from the house. And, well, maybe he shouldn't watch their stare down, shouldn't shift awkwardly and draw their attention from each other to him.

Maybe he should go inside.

And _maybe_ his daughter should be dealing with cavities and scraped knees instead of _black eyes and maimed ears!_

Basically he feels justified in, ah, supervising. Not that it's exactly necessary when the rest of the interaction consists of Ino-chan and Ayane staring back at each other, and an eventual nod from Ayane.

And little Ino-chan sweeps inside after that with a _Hmph!_ and her nose in the air. 

Saku-chan is given two weeks off, something she protests loudly and often, especially during her first week. She might've gone stir crazy without the constant presence of Ino-chan and Naru-kun during that week.

And yes, Ino-chan does spend that entire first week in the Haruno household.

Even Mebuki stays home! And with the rest of the kids cycling through every day, the house feels particularly packed and cozy.

It's nice to spend some quality time with all of the family. 


	55. Chapter 55

By the middle of the second week, Ino-chan decides that Saku-chan is safe and well enough to be left on her own...

And she just sort-of disappears, not unlike how Sasuke-kun had on his search to help the plants. Except when he asks Chōji-kun and Shika-kun what Ino-chan is up to, they won't tell him.

Or Saku-chan, apparently. Naru-kun knows but he's getting particularly good at keeping secrets. He's, they're, a little offended at being left out. Saku-chan tells him that they should,

"Definitely definitely, we should have a secret pastry just for us. And they can't have _any._ " in front of the kids at _sleepover dinner!_ Sasuke-kun is the only one that doesn't protest. In fact he laughs and says it serves them right.

Ino-chan elbows him and steals a tomato from his plate and it almost starts a tussle. Because yes, Ino-chan does still attend every weekend sleepover.

At least he assumes she joins all of them; every other weekend has been shifted to the Uchiha compound. 

That's all well and good for him.

He and Mebuki take up date nights!


	56. Chapter 56

He likes Saku-chan's new cut. He does! It's cute, it'd be cute no matter what she did because his children are simply the cutest, but that's besides the point.

It's cute.

It's _very_ cute.

And it's short enough to show the flat edge sliced into the top curve of her right ear. 

So it's a cute haircut, right, and it's been almost two months and he should be used to it! But, but he just, _still_ winces when he sees it. 

It, he's, he's not- she's been training _so_ _much_. So much it feels like he hardly sees her anymore, so when he _does_ see her it's always so jarring! And he's _terrible_ at hiding it.

He knows he is but it certainly doesn't help that, even with as little as she's around, Ino-chan notices... and, uhh, calls him out,

"You're hurting her feelings."

And he's proud of her stealth even as he's startled enough to nearly drop the teacup he'd been nursing by the kitchen window. 

"What?" and he's familiar with that fierce look Ino-chan wears so adorably.

"It hurts her feelings when you look at her like that." And the _shame_ that burns in him. It's not intentional! He's not trying to, to- but it doesn't particularly _matter_ If it's intentional or not when it's hurting her feelings. And so he swallows back the shame and swears to Ino-chan,

"I'll be better." And her nose ticks up in the air and she tells him, very seriously,

"See that you do." And spins on her heel to sweep out of the kitchen with her arms full of juice boxes.

He'll need to find the time to apologize to Saku-chan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been plotting huhuhu


	57. Chapter 57

It takes two days to catch Saku-chan alone.

Her new training regimen keeps her busy enough to arrive particularly late to meals, if she makes it to them at all. 

And so it's an exhausted Saku-chan that shuffles into the kitchen, a little too sullen and somber for so early in the morning. He'd been smart enough to whip up a batch of muffins for her, knowing from the way that Naru-kun moped at breakfast that Saku-chan wouldn't make it.

She takes three muffins and sits at the kitchen table while he wipes the counters of crumbs. He'll have to sweep when he's done. And he needs to mop, he hasn't dusted in a nearly month... Gosh, maybe two months! The last time he remembers dusting was before Sasuke-kun's birthday dinner.

Plus Ino-chan and Shika-kun have their dinners in a few weeks and...

And he's putting this off.

"Have I ever told you about my Kaa-chan?" He smiles over his shoulder at her and catches her trying to shove an entire muffin in her mouth. She colors slightly but finishes her mouthful while he chuckles and teases, "They won't run away you know."

Her _I know!_ is muffled, accompanied by a spray of crumbs and he tells her, and very seriously,

"You'd certainly catch them if they tried." and she tints a little closer to matching her hair and finishes her muffin to say another,

"I know." And as he shifts over to wipe up her crumb spray, she gazes up at him from beneath her lashes to wonder, "I didn't know you have a Kaa-chan?" There's a half-second pause and her eyes cut to the side and she hisses out a " _Shut it Yuzu!_ " that he chooses to ignore in favor of telling her,

"You look a bit like her." They had the same shade of bright green eyes like the first unfurling buds of spring, same nose same mouth (He's got those too). "Though your hair is a bit different. She liked hers short all around." And he tugs at her bangs playfully, earning a giggle.

She'd liked it short and held back by a bandana, usually. But when it was down he could admire the dusky shade of her hair, that color between red and pink that paints the sky at sunset.

He tells Saku-chan this and her eyes just light up. And he tells her more, tells her about his Kaa-chan's prosthetic leg and the way she'd complain about the phantom pains with a smile on her face; he tells her how one leg never stopped his Kaa-chan from bustling and bossing about the forge and he tells her about the weapons his Kaa-chan and Tou-chan crafted together and-

And at some point he tells her that,

"My Kaa-chan was always proud of the blood she'd lost and the scars she'd gained. She used to say that the world comes for you everyday, fighting tooth and nail until you're gums and finger knuckles... I'm. I'm _so proud_ of you. Every day I wake up is another day I feel more fulfilled just to have you in my life!

... But it scares me so much that you're out there fighting a fight I will only hear stories about, against forces I can't protect you from. You used to be so small that it felt like only I could defend you from the world and. And you're still nearly as small but suddenly you're protecting _me_. And your _Kaa-chan_. And your _village_ and..."

"Am I..." Saku-chan stops and clears her throat, wiping at her eyes and sniffling a little. "Am I still prettier than Inojichi?"

Oh! Oh his eldest child!

"My precious Saku, you will _always_ be the most beautiful flower I will ever be so blessed to love."

Saku-chan skips the rest of her training to spend the day with him. He uses the time to finally teach her how to sew.


	58. OMAKE III: Ayane Uchiha

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think it's time you all knew about my girl

She had spent far too many years of her life resenting her civilian Otou-san. She'd been a petty thing back then - she still could be. When Okaa-sama had been alive, she'd simply say,

"It's the Uchiha in you." Grinning, always grinning. Young, petty, bitter, she would snap back at Okaa-sama,

"I wish _they_ could see that!" 

Without _him_ , Obaa-sama wouldn't have kicked Okaa-sama out. Without _him_ , she wouldn't be ignored by the people that should be hers! A clan, _family_.

But she was a half-civilian, unlikely to even dream of unlocking the Kekkei Genkai less than a fifth of her would-be clan had. 

"You won't hear it from anyone else, certainly no one from the compound, but... The love of an Uchiha runs deep. Deeper than any ocean. Deeper than the darkness of the blackest night. Deeper than that desire of yours to carry the uchiwa." Grinning, always grinning.

Never answers to her questions. Just cryptic quips and hollow grins.

She resented her Otou-san for loving Okaa-sama, and for dying and leaving her empty.

The love of an Uchiha runs deep, and the well of her Okaa-sama's had been spent on Otou-san.

When she's older, when Okaa-sama is dead and she defies her low blood and lower odds to unlock that Dōjutsu unique to the clan that suddenly claims her, she resents Okaa-sama.

And Obaa-sama.

And the uchiwa that sits heavy on her breast or back.

And herself. Mostly herself. Uchiha in name and blood and bitterness and even Kekkei Genkai, and she finds herself in a world of black eyes and black hair and pale faces and she belongs.

And she is empty. 

It goes like this for days that become months that blur into years until one Haruno Sakura crashes into her life. She has known color and light, blessed with Sharingan perfect vision. Yet she finds a depth, a vividness previously unknown and it goes like this for days that become months that become years...

And at some point she resents the parts of herself that ever misunderstood Okaa-sama, that ever hated Otou-san.

(And in quiet moments she wonders if her Otou-san had been anything like Kizashi-san, and in quieter moments she hopes he was.)


End file.
